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Tuesdays with TMAC – Bulls Gap Charge!
(Bill W - a few hours shy of Tuesday some places) March 20, 2007 – McCarl Motorsports will head back south of the Mason Dixon line this weekend, as the 'Brahmas' on dirt charge to Bulls Gap, Tennessee and the Volunteer Speedway this weekend. The trip to the high-banked 4/10 speedplant dubbed "The World's Fastest Dirt Track" will be the first ever for the World of Outlaws series and the inaugural visit for Altoona, Iowa's Terry McCarl.
Visiting new tracks is nothing new to TMAC and he has a similar approach to every new track he sees. "We'll throw our basic setup on it, depending what size it is. From what I hear, the track is really high-banked. We've been pretty good at Atomic Speedway (near Knoxville, Tennessee), another high-banked track. We've never won in Tennessee, so we're excited and will do our best to change that."
Solid Finishes in Dixie
Confidence should be high for McCarl Motorsports in the speed department as Terry was 2nd quick to Joey Saldana at both Houston Raceway Park and Pike County Speedway last weekend. At Houston on Friday night, McCarl came just short of the draw position in the dash that would have drawn with a top two heat race finish. "In the heat race, (Jac) Haud(enschild) beat us by a foot or two (.09 seconds) for second. We were real close to the redraw and had a great car."
An eighth place run from the back row of the dash set McCarl up outside row four of the main event. Unfortunately, he was fighting the car the whole way, and ended in 13th. "We just screwed up in the feature. We were a little tight all night long, and we tightened it a little bit for the feature. They had had a little rain down there, and the car was so tight, it could not get off the right rear the whole race. The car was great, the motor was running really good, I was driving hard all night long, but in the feature we just screwed up and missed the setup. We were fortunate to finish 13th as bad as the car felt. It was totally our fault. If we would have left it alone, it would have been fine, but instead of making it better, we made it worse."
Despite the strong showing finish-wise, the botched setup forced McCarl and crew chief Steve Fitzpatrick to put their heads together afterwards. "I was really disappointed Friday night, really disappointed. I think we had a top three car easy, and we basically just dialed ourselves right out of the ballpark. The second night (Pike County), I told Steve, we're just going back to the basics. Let's put a couple of good tires on, a good motor, and drive the damn thing! I think we 'outmechaniced' ourselves a bit in Houston."
Saturday night, another strong qualifying run (2nd) and a seventh place finish in the dash, set McCarl up for another row four start in the feature at Pike County Speedway near Magnolia, Mississippi. Despite the good start, the racing surface lent little passing opportunities, and McCarl ended up where he started (7th),on a track that ended up with "rubber down" conditions.
TMAC relates, "It is a stock car track and it was beaten down. Stock cars like it smooth all the time, but sprint cars…we don't want it rough…but if it's a little rough, I think it puts on a better show for the fans. That was too bad, because it's a neat little track to run, and we needed at least another 10 laps to operate before it started laying rubber. That's a part of dirt racing, though. It's such a guessing game. Is it (dirt) going to blow off? When is it going to blow off? Is it going to get slick? If it does, will it lay rubber? And how soon will it lay rubber? You can go with a softer tire if it doesn't lay rubber for awhile, and then when it does, just hang on to the end, trying to get people passed early on. It's such a guessing game, and that's what makes it fun."
Fun is what it's all about, and not all was lost as Terry and the McCarl Motorsports team came out of the weekend still running in the top five in the WoO standings. "We were fast and qualified well…those are the nights you've got to roll in, be glad you had a decent finish, didn't wad anything up, and go on with the 100 race season. It can't always be perfect. We're looking forward to Tennessee!"
In"Terry"gation
Jim Langel from Luck, WI asks: I was curious if Big Game Treestands has done any studies on the impact of their sponsorship? Have their sales gone up where you race? And do they do any promotions for their product at any of the tracks you visit?
TMAC answers: Yes, Big Game Treestands has done extensive studies on the advertising of racing. The studies have proven there is a tremendous amount of crossover in the race fan and outdoor enthusiast. According to Big Game, they follow the "Joyce Julius" reports, which places an actual dollar amount on this form of advertising. In key areas, we have done special promotions at the racetrack. This is chosen based on geographic areas where hunting and population is very popular, for example Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Got a question for TMAC? Send it to us at [email protected], and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for TMAC" in your subject line.
Did you know?
TMAC has still qualified for every WoO feature event through his heat race this season. He also qualified for the races at East Bay and the All Star races at Volusia in the same fashion. There is no "B" in TMAC, right? Well maybe the Chili Bowl, but we won't mention that.
Website Updates
Keep up to date with McCarl Motorsports at www.TerryMcCarl.com. We keep it fresh for TMAC fans! The schedule is updated. Iowa/Illinois/Missouri TMAC fans, check out May 6!
Front Row/Ultimate Challenge Update
Advanced ticket holders to the Front Row Challenge and/or Ultimate Challenge can order their tickets now until March 29. All other seats become available April 3. Call McTwo Promotions Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 515 957-0020 to renew!
Infield Party Passes are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race!
For more information on the Challenges or on TMAC Motorsports, visit www.TerryMcCarl.com.
"Tuesdays with TMAC"
To receive "Tuesdays with TMAC", send an e-mail to [email protected] with "TMAC" in the subject line.
TMAC Motorsports would like to thank sponsors Big Game Treestands, Bosma Poultry, Inc., AmeriCash Advance, and Ground Max Hunting Blinds.
 (John's Racing Photos)
Media by Bill "W" Wright (e-mail: [email protected])
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com
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